Oregon Beer News, 04/03/2013

Here’s the news in Oregon beer for Wednesday, the 3rd of April. As usual, I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day with the latest news, so check back often. If you have news to share, please contact me and I can get that updated as well.

Belmont Station (Portland) is hosting a tasting and meet the brewer with McMinnville’s Golden Valley Brewery today from 5 to 7pm: “Actually two brewers as we will pour a keg of the beer Golden Valley’s brewmaster created with John Harris. They’ll both be here and Mark will also pour tastes of his Bald Peak IPA, Black Panther Imperial Stout, and Dundee Porter.”

New Belgium Brewing‘s Oregon marketing arm is holding a beer dinner tonight at Portland’s H50 Bistro & Bar, starting at 6pm and featuring “8 Food & Beer Flights Tapas Style” for $60. Here’s the menu (PDF), which looks really lovely and would be a great spring dinner. You’ll need reservations to attend, which you can call (503) 484-1415 for. (Seating is limited to 50.)

Full Sail Brewing (Hood River) announced today (via press release) the latest bottled beer in their rotating Pub Ales series lineup: Extra Special Bitter. “The second beer in the series, Extra Special Bitter (ESB) is a medium-bodied ale with caramel complexity and a crisp hoppy finish. This new series features ales that had only previously been available at Full Sail’s Tasting Room & Pub. ESB is available in 6-packs and on draft for 90 days only from April to June when the next beer in the series will be released. ABV 6.5% IBU 35″

Deschutes Brewery (Bend): Unfortunately, the “Class of 88″ event that was set for Monday the 8th had to be cancelled—not enough people had signed up. (Wha–?) In lieu of that, the Brewery will still be doing a tasting of the three beers, just not with the special menu and options: “Free samples of all 3 collaboration versions of Class of ’88 Barley Wine (Deschutes, Rogue Ales, & North Coast Brewing Company) paired with light artisan apps & a chat with Brewmaster Cam in the Tap Room in Bend | Monday, April 8th from 6-9pm.”

De Garde Brewing (Tillamook): Their first batch of beer hit the kettle yesterday, according to this post! “Running our first batch into the kettle yesterday. Went well. What should be a tasty Berliner Weisse is on it’s way! Of course, we put our spin on it: spontaneous fermentation with our coastal funky bugs. Should make for an interesting and funky light wheat beer with a refreshing tartness. Up next: American Pale Ale with a huge aroma and flavor hop charge primarily dominated by Citra. Oh, and some unique twists… Stay tuned!”

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene) has released their latest Single Batch series beer: “Oakshire Stream: Oregon Common Ale. A sunset copper colored ale with a mild bready nose, medium body, and peppery/spicy hop character. The finish is clean and snappy with a lingering woody and earthy flavor. Available on draft only in the southern Willamette valley. Cheers!” I love the idea of an “Oregon Common” beer.